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Respected Contributor
Posts: 4,354
Registered: ‎03-09-2010

Re: Question to those who are retired


@abbeythe 8th wrote:

I retired from teaching when I was 55.  I loved what took place in the classroom but the lesson plans, correcting tests and quizzes, calling parents, writing recommendations and the political BS with the BOA, were exhausting.  In addition we purchased a vacation home in Italy and I wanted to spend more time there.

 

If I had the kind of job that I could actually leave when I left the building, I probably would have worked longer.

 

I love retirement.


me too. Every waking moment was consumed w/this job, including summers. Breast cancer put me out to pasture.

Trusted Contributor
Posts: 1,753
Registered: ‎08-16-2016

Re: Question to those who are retired

Actually a question with no answer for me. I've taken what I call "sabbaticals," I've "sort of" retired, I've cut back hours, done freelance work, part time work, back to more or less full time...I'm feeling like change is the only way to describe it for me. Makes my tax return complicated but my life interesting!

Honored Contributor
Posts: 8,420
Registered: ‎03-09-2010

Re: Question to those who are retired

I was 52 when I had a stroke and lost my memory. ( after much therapy I regained a good deal of it)  I took a year's sick leave, then early retirement. 

 

I was a high school math teacher in a highly regarded school system.  I taught AP Calculus and Honors Analysis so while my students were the best, they and their parents could be demanding. I devoted hours outside the classroom preparing for class.  There was seldom a summer that we went did not have to take coursework for the next new innovative teaching method. (yet without a calculator even some of the best students knew simple multiplication facts)

 

In some ways my medical condition was a blessing in disguise as I never had to go through retirement preparation.

 

As others have said, I too often wondered what it would be like to have a job that did not involve outside preparation.  As a teen I worked as a clerk in a department store  and a waitress.  I showed up and did my job.  Once I walked out work was over.

 

I am 66 so my teaching career was a lifetime ago.  I love being in charge of my time.

Respected Contributor
Posts: 2,216
Registered: ‎08-02-2010

Re: Question to those who are retired

Continue to find joy and excitement in your retirement. You sound like a woman who still needs to be involved in the community so perhaps you would consider volunteering or joining a club that provides community services.  You would decide how many hours you wish to volunteer or how much you want to belong.  That's the beauty of retirement.  I retired last year at age 72.  

Honored Contributor
Posts: 13,913
Registered: ‎03-10-2010

Re: Question to those who are retired

 

I retired after working exactly, to the day, 33 years in the hot factories of Western Electric, which in 1984 became AT&T. A buyout was offered and I took it. Did all the math of what my hourly pay would be should I continue to work, refusing the buyout. It came to way below minimum wage, which I felt would be ridiculous to do for over 12 years by turning down the buyout offer.

 

My mind was helped also after being scr**ed out of a much qualified and deserved job, as salaried person. Had I gotten that position, on the first day on that job, my income would have increased over $500 per month, and that was in 1991.I wasn't an *ss kisser or a minority, so the 7 jobs went to others. Thirty of us took the qualifying tests, I finished 2nd, yet was bypassed.

 

I ended up retiring, after 33 years, at a grade lower salary than when I was hired in 1958.  As expressed in my above paragraph, if you were not a bosses pet or a minority, how qualified you were made no difference.

 

For me there is not 1 thing I regret about retiring at the old age of 52. Like many, the only thing I even remotely missed, were a few of my co-workers, some which have since died. Has my way of life changed during these years? Very little other than several major setbacks.

 

 

 

hckynut(john)

hckynut(john)
Honored Contributor
Posts: 9,725
Registered: ‎10-01-2013

Re: Question to those who are retired

I retired when I turned 62 after working for 40 years. I have never regretted it for one second. No more getting up at 5:00 and driving in bad weather and freezing temperatures. I come and go as I please and have no schedule. Life is good in retirement. I know they say you need huge amounts of money to retire, but I do not find that to be the case at all. I always lived on a budget and continue to do so. I made sure my mortgage was paid off before I retired.

Respected Contributor
Posts: 4,865
Registered: ‎12-02-2013

Re: Question to those who are retired

@hckynut

 

John,

 

Sorry for the unfair treatment you were subjected to for all those years.  I do understand all too well.  I spent my System career fighting for my people.

 

When I went up to the parent company, they immediately sent me to the national assessment center where I was judged to have AVP level potential.  Corporate planning wanted to promote me up a level but my home company said they wouldn't take me back at that level.  I wasn't one of their favorite sons...and the wrong nationality.  

 

Too strong in their opinion and one to rock the status quo, but once I left with my package in 1984 and started my own training company, it all served me well.  Next career, career consulting and coaching....very rewarding to help men and women succeed.  Since I spoke from real life experience and called a spade a spade, I was respected and successful.

 

May your physical troubles be in the past:  health and happiness rule you days.

We make a living by what we get. We make a life by what we give.
Sir Winston Churchill
Valued Contributor
Posts: 881
Registered: ‎04-25-2011

Re: Question to those who are retired

I have been retired for 2 years and 3 months--I was 58 years old when I made the decision.

I was diagnosed with a recurrence of my original cancer for the second time and I needed radiation--I worked through most of it until the side effects were too much for me to work through. At the same time, my Mom wasn't doing well and subsequently passed away a few months later. I came back to work after my radiation was finished and all was OK until my boss, who was not a nice person to begin with, did my annual evaluation--she told me that my work was excellent, however, she cannot give me a perfect score because I had not made an effort to volunteer that year for the good of the hospital (I worked in medical records as a coder)--I thought I heard her wrong! I reminded her that I just finished radiation and couldn't work for awhile because of the side effects--and that my Mom got very sick and passed away--volunteering was not foremost on my mind at that time. She didn't care--she was as cold as ice! That was on a Friday---by Monday I gave her my letter of resignation--she told me she was shocked--that she has no idea why I was leaving--can you imagine? After working since I was a teenager, I decided enough is enough.I worked in the medical field since I was 20--I used to love it--but after all I went through, I now hated it--I couldn't read and evaluate one more patient chart. I also could not deal with such a nasty ice woman as a boss--no compassion whatsoever--life is too short to have to put up with her anymore--so that was that. Since I still have cancer--it is now a chronic condition--I decided to retire as I never know when it will become acute or spread again---my husband then retired last year.It's tough living on a fixed income, but we're managing. It was one of the best decisions for me. I love being home and not having to work my appointments and chores around a work schedule--I do what I want when I want!!!

Honored Contributor
Posts: 34,520
Registered: ‎03-09-2010

Re: Question to those who are retired

@Gracies Mom

That job review you got was certainly a farce. Was serving as a volunteer even part of the job description you signed up for?

It seems you should have been eligible for SSI, which I would think you would still be getting.

 

Our teacher assessment system used a format where-in you could not achieve the highest rating unless you had served, in Austin -- the state Capitol-- as an elected officer of the TEA!  Excuse me ---? I thought you wanted to judge my classroom performance with STUDENTS IN THE CLASSROOM -- not with politicians in AUSTIN! N

 

Looking back, my last three years of teaching I really physically couldn't do and I should have applied for SSI.

 

I retired at age 52. I rested for two years -- and we are talking bed rest Smiley Sad

 

I'm sorry this has all befallen on you -- I wish you a full recovery.

~Have a Kind Heart, Fierce Mind, Brave Spirit~
Respected Contributor
Posts: 2,757
Registered: ‎09-06-2014

Re: Question to those who are retired

[ Edited ]

I retired several years ago at 65.  I wanted to wait until I was eligible for Medicare.